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Bonnaroo wedding: Couple ties the knot at music festival

Kayla and Zach Moore of Dayton, Ohio, kiss after getting married on the first day of the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival on Thursday in Manchester, Tenn. (CAITIE MCMEKIN/NEWS SENTINEL)(Photo: CAITIE MCMEKIN)

MANCHESTER, Tenn. — When thousands of people walk into Manchester's 650-acre Great Stage Park for Bonnaroo, they say they can feel love in the air.

That's especially true for Zach Moore and Kayla Smith Moore, a couple from Dayton, Ohio, who got married during the festival Thursday night at the park's giant mushroom fountain surrounded by people, colorful tents and concert stages.

'It was just all the love here,' said Zach Moore, describing why he and his wife wanted to get married at Bonnaroo. 'We love each other. Why don't we make this huge Bonnaroo 15 years of magic (better)? Let's just add on top of it. Let's just do something really exciting.

'You go everywhere else in the world and there's at least a group of people that are being negative. Here there is no negativity, and, you know, what a way to bring together a bond.'

The couple decided to tie the knot at the annual four-day music festival, which features concerts, arts, vendors and more, after attending together last year. They had another ceremony at home with their families beforehand, Zach Moore said.

The two contacted Soberoo, the festival's group for attendees who want to remain sober at the event, and planned out the ceremony, which was officiated by ordained minister Dylan Tasch. Zach Moore said he has been sober from alcohol three years and three months.

'I was a big drinker for six years. I mean like two gallons of vodka a day. … We met when I was about three or four months sober, so very early in the stages of that,' he said.

He said his wife has supported him since they met.

They first crossed paths while working at a Long John Silver's restaurant in 2014, became friends and bonded through their tastes in music, according to Kayla Moore.

The couple aren't the only ones hooked on Bonnaroo's positive atmosphere. The festival draws thousands of attendees from around the country each year with its good vibes.

The event, co-founded by Knoxville's Ashley Capps of AC Entertainment, began in 2002 and is now in its 15th year.

Shelby Ostergaard and Jeri Carriveau travelled 13 hours from Chicago to Manchester for Bonnaroo and stopped in Knoxville on the way.

'It's gorgeous. … This vibe is just amazing,' Ostergaard said while sitting under a tree in the park. 'It's just so open out here, and everyone is so friendly.'

Carriveau, who's attended the festival before, put her Thailand backpacking trip on hold to come to the festival.

'I liked Bonnaroo so much that I came back,' she said.

Ostergaard and Carriveau said they looked forward to seeing Twin Peaks, a rock band from Chicago, that was set to perform Thursday night.

Sisters Michelle and Melissa Haldeman from Germantown, Wis., are attending Bonnaroo for the first time and called it different from other festivals they have been to.

'I would say people are a lot more open,' Michelle Haldeman said. 'You don't just come here with people that you've travelled with, but with everybody that's here.'

The Haldemans said they traveled about 10 hours to get to Manchester and had a great trip. They are planning to see pop singer Ellie Goulding, along with others.

The festival, which will continue through Sunday, also offers comedy, cinema, food vendors, crafts, workshops, yoga and other activities. This year, the event added permanent bathrooms and showers to the site.

Read or Share this story: https://www.knoxnews.com/story/news/local/2016/06/09/bonnaroo-wedding-couple-ties-the-knot-at-music-festival/91009082/